


Red Means Blood

by Rangergirl3



Series: Lost Paladins [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gen, Intense, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-04
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-29 01:42:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8470732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rangergirl3/pseuds/Rangergirl3
Summary: It's hard to be a Paladin of Voltron. But for someone who's part-Galra, it's especially difficult. Even if your team's accepted you, it doesn't mean the universe will.





	1. Trouble and Attempted Diplomacy

**EARLIER THAT DAY**

**_Shiro_ **

"Oh,  _come on_ , Shiro!" Lance said. "It's totally my turn to come with you on patrol - why does Keith get to go?!"

From where he stood at Shiro's right side, Keith growled in reply. "Because I'm really good at surveillance, and you're better at flying into things."

Lance felt annoyed, and it showed in his voice. "That was like,  _one_  time, Keith."

"So far," Keith answered under his breath. There was a hint of a smile in his eyes, but it wasn't a malicious one. Shiro knew this was just Keith's version of humor, but he guessed Lance might not understand that quite yet. Shiro had known Keith for years, and right now, he had to keep them from getting into one of their usually-harmless-but-time-consuming arguments.

So Shiro just sighed and interjected before the other two began fighting again. "Lance, I promise, next time I go out on patrol on an alien planet, you can come with me." He gave Lance a genuine smile and put a hand on his shoulder. "But look at it this way," he went on. "You'll get to help Pidge and Hunk figure out why the planet's atmosphere is…

"Toxic to Altean technology?" Lance asked. "I'm still not sure why we decided we wanted to take a pod down here - even with a special shield Pidge invented - for it like -  _yesterday_. I mean - if it's dangerous, why did we want to come down here at all?"

"The planet's not toxic to Altean technology," Keith said. "It's the electrical storms in the atmosphere - they interfere with normal space instruments. That's why we think the Galra haven't made a base here yet. And also, it's why we wanted to explore the planet. Look for signs of habitation, maybe some way of utilizing the -"

"Whatever," Lance interrupted. "I still miss having our Lions with us."

Keith growled in the back of his throat at the interruption, but Shiro interjected before another argument could break out.

"Lance," he said, "I think it'll be good for you to be with the others. I'm sure Hunk would love to have you nearby - especially when we're all in a strange place. And Pidge too, even though she might not say it out loud."

Lance sighed, nodded, and started to turn and head back towards the shuttle they'd come in. But then he stopped and turned back towards them.

"Just - both of you come back from patrol in one piece, okay?"

"Huh?" Keith asked, confused. He didn't even know he'd said it until Lance answered him.

"It's just - we need both of you back safe. So - don't go getting swallowed by a volcano or anything, okay?"

Shiro chuckled and clapped Lance once more on the shoulder. "Okay, Lance - we won't get swallowed by a volcano."

Keith looked faintly puzzled, as if he wanted to ask why Lance thought they might get swallowed by a volcano, but he just blinked, shrugged, and nodded.

Was Lance worried that their armor or weapons weren't up to scratch? That didn't seem to make sense to Keith.

None of them had proper armor or bayards yet - Pidge and Hunk had done really well in making temporary replacements for what had been taken by the Galra, but there was a limit to what they'd been able to do. The armor was standard Altean gear - just white, with minimal markings. The weapons each of the Paladins carried didn't collapse like their bayards had, or take multiple forms based on the Paladin's preference. But they were better than nothing, though.

Keith wore his broadsword over his back - Lance had called him 'Link' for all of two minutes before Keith had threatened to call him 'Bullseye' and then Shiro had stepped in and said that no one was going to be nicknaming anyone  _anything_  until they had had their weapons for at  _least_  a month.

As Shiro and Keith headed into the forest, Keith asked Shiro what Lance had meant by making them promise not to 'fall into a volcano'. Shiro moved quietly through the trees, but he looked over at Keith when he answered the question.

"It's his way of saying 'Don't die," Shiro said.

Keith blinked, still feeling confused.

"Then why didn't he just say -"

Shiro shot his friend a grin. "It's Lance. He rarely says everything he means in so many words."

Keith grunted. "Kinda ironic, given how much he talks-"

Shiro shrugged, smiling a little. "It's just who he is."

Keith half-smiled to himself, but suddenly stopped in his tracks, bending down to examine something in the long grass, his brow furrowing in concentration.

"Shiro, come and look at this - "

Shiro turned to see Keith pointing at what looked like a cross between a catapult and crossbow. It was set near the ground, almost completely hidden between a pile of stones and a large tree trunk.

"I think it's a - " Keith began, but suddenly a harsh, piercing noise rang out through the trees, almost like a siren. Both Shiro and Keith jumped in startled surprise. Shiro activated the weapons setting on his cybernetic arm, turning in a circle to see what was going on.

"Lance, come in," he said into the comms unit inside his helmet. "There's been some sort of-"

He broke off as he saw Keith's reaction to the sound. The Red Paladin had fallen to one knee, clutching at his head. He was grimacing in pain.

Shiro quickly came to his friend's side, asking what was wrong. Over the comms, he heard Pidge contacting Allura and Coran, and then everyone was on the comms.

But all of Shiro's attention was focused on Keith.

His friend's eyes were half-closed, his face contorted with pain and confusion. "I - I don't know," he said in answer to Shiro's concern. "It's - the noise - something - something - about it - it - oh,  _God_ , Shiro, it - it  _really_  hurts-"

Shiro's eyes widened then. Keith never,  _ever_  acknowledged pain. It wasn't that he didn't feel it, he just usually ignored it until the crisis was over, and then found a way to treat it on his own.

And although Shiro found the noise piercing, it wasn't painful.

But - if Keith was of Galran descent - as they'd begun to suspect - oh,  _shit_.

This was probably a defensive tactic used against the Galra.

From what little he remembered from his time in captivity, Shiro knew that Galrans were sensitive to certain ranges of sound. If a weapon this planet's inhabitants produced could somehow project those ranges of sound - say, at a high enough volume or frequency— that kind of sonic weapon could incapacitate or even kill the target.

And the device, hidden almost out of sight. Some sort of trap?

Probably.

This had to mean that this planet was inhabited - somehow. The Castle's scanners hadn't picked up any reading of cities or life on the planet's surface - but maybe this race was subterranean - living underground to keep out of the Galran reach -

Then there was a sudden rise in the volume of the siren, and Keith suddenly wrenched off his helmet, trying to cover both his ears with his hands at the same time. He was screaming now, maybe because he was trying to drown out the sound of the siren, and his nose was bleeding.

Shiro felt adrenaline rush through him. He had to get his friend out of here, away from the noise. He didn't know what might happen if he didn't.

"Hang on," Shiro said. "We're heading back to the castle-Lance, Pidge, Hunk, get back to the pod,  _right now_  - we'll meet you there -"

He had already grabbed Keith and lifted him over his shoulder, intent on getting him back to the pod, and then back to the castle, as fast as possible. He grabbed Keith's helmet from the ground as he spoke into the comms, beginning to move as quickly as he could.

Their helmets were designed to protect them from usual weapons, and even - for very, very short periods of time - the vacuum of space - but judging from Keith's reaction, it couldn't protect him from this.

Come to think of it, maybe the weapon had been specialized to bypass the armor of Galran soliders. It would make sense.

Even as Shiro began heading back the way they had come, something hissed through the trees.

He barely managed to dodge out of the way of a crossbow bolt, realizing - somewhere in a far corner of his mind - that he had also recognized the device Keith had pointed out to him, right before the siren had begun wailing.

It was a trap, and it had a time delay. When you activated the trap - usually by shifting a weight that kept the trigger in place - it took a few seconds for the bolt to fire - but when it did, you did  _not_  want to be in its path.

It was a way for the target to become confused and frightened, causing them to try and dodge out of the way - and it usually meant there was more than one trap in the immediate area.

There were more hissing noises now - more bolts being activated, hissing back and forth around them.

But Shiro didn't have a choice. He couldn't wait to figure out the pattern - even if there was one.

Because if Keith stayed here, he might die.

So, Shiro just turned and ran as fast he could, hoping one of the bolts wouldn't go through his leg, because if it did, neither of them would make it back to the shuttle. The comms were still going crazy, worried voices asking him what was wrong, what had happened to Keith.

Then something twisted underneath Shiro's foot, and he did fall then, Keith going down with him.

Shiro felt panic rise in his chest. What had happened - what was going on - oh,  _shit_.

He'd run straight into a trap. Maybe the bolts had been meant to corral enemies into this spot - oh,  _shit_.

The ground had opened up beneath them, acting almost like quicksand. He tried to reach Keith, to pull him back towards solid ground, but his friend's head had already sunk beneath the surface.

Shiro just had time to get on his comms and tell the other Paladins to get out, get back to the Castle  _now_  - to get back to Coran and Allura - before the earth swallowed him whole, and all sound suddenly cut out.

Then he felt the horrible, almost weightless sensation of falling a long way down, and of darkness closing in around him.

* * *

**_Allura_ **

She and Coran had been analyzing the planet's unique atmosphere with the Castle's scanners when the shuttle had come back. Hunk was the first one out of the shuttle, saying something about quicksand and an ambush. Lance just headed straight for Blue's bay, his usually friendly face set into a fierce frown.

"We've got to go and get them," he said. "I'm going down - it won't take me long-"

But Pidge had darted in front of him, blocking the way. "You can't!" she said. "The readings Hunk and I took on the surface - listen, the atmosphere could damage Blue worse than a fleet's worth of direct fire - I think the atmosphere's electricity storms might actually be some kind of weapon, to prevent arial attack-"

It was then that Coran interjected with his own information, gathered into readable data from the Castle's systems just moments before the shuttle had returned.

Pidge's theory was correct. The atmosphere was only part of a planet-wide defense system that apparently had been set up to discourage any crafts from landing on the surface.

If anything did manage to make it through the barrier, they were met by ground troops - as Shiro and Keith had discovered.

Allura and Hunk began at once to set up a communications broadcast to the planet. Pidge's fingers flew as she worked on hacking the signal, trying to create an opening for their communications broadcast to go through.

They had tried a cursory attempt at communicating with the planet's (then only guessed at) inhabitants before the Paladins had gone down to the surface in the pod, but those previous efforts had met with no success.

At the time, the atmosphere had seemed to be a natural phenomenon, a possible technique to be used as a defense system against the Galra. So, the team had decided to investigate.

Allura swore to herself that she would never make such a foolish mistake again. She'd just been so - excited - at the possibility of finding a solution to keep the Galra from attacking a planet - any planet - that she'd allowed the Paladins to go on an exploration mission without enough information. If they'd waited - even just a few hours - the intentional planet-wide network of electrical storms would have been discovered.

But now, as a direct result of her hasty action, two of her friends were missing. The other three Paladins were frantic, and Allura was too, although she didn't show it in her voice as she helped direct Hunk through various wirings and rewirings of the communications system as they attempted to make contact with the alien race that had taken their friends.

But Coran knew her well enough to know she was terrified at the situation.

Delegates or not, Alteans knew that was never a good sign when people went missing.

The only thing to do now was to open communications with the people who had taken their friends, assure them of their good will, and to get. their. people. back.

Pidge's fingers flew over the keyboard once more, and suddenly, the main communications screen hummed and buzzed into life. Everyone came to stand behind Allura, who stood directly in front of the screen. The image flickered and blurred for a moment before resolving into to a room full of people - two of which were very familiar.

"Greetings," Allura was saying, and she seemed perfectly calm, composed, and collected. Only Coran saw how she had her hands fisted tight in her skirts, down at her side, out of the screen's direct line of sight. She was angry, and she had good cause to be so.

Both Keith and Shiro had a guard standing by each of their shoulders. They were on their knees, their arms secured by their backs, facing what seemed to be a governing body of politicians.

To Coran, it looked as if the two Paladins were on trial.

This was not good. Not good at all.

But Allura continued to introduce herself, keeping her face neutral, her voice controlled. She explained the situation, and then one of the - it looked like a council, so that would make this person a head council member - spoke.

Hunk felt his heart sink at the way the figure spoke, at the way he seemed distrustful of Allura's assurances. She was speaking again -

"I can personally confirm their - their testimony. The Black Paladin is - is not part of the Galra Empire, and the Red Paladin is - "

The council member looked directly at her then, and his red eyes glowed in a sudden outrush of feeling as it interrupted her smoothly. Its voice was that of steel in midwinter - cold, sharp, and merciless.

"The 'Red Paladin' - as you call him - is most  _definitely_  of Galran descent."

Allura felt her jaw begin to clench, but continued to speak politely, though with great effort.

"When last I looked, one's lineage alone did not determine whether they lived or died. Have the customs of civilized nations changed so drastically since last I knew them?"

The figure - Lance hadn't caught the name - tilted its head to one side. It looked enough like a human gesture to be unnerving. The alien race looked a lot like the Alteans - tall, with pointed ears - but they also had blue skin, red eyes, and claws instead of fingers.

But they definitely were neither human nor Altean.

And it sounded like they really,  _really_  hated the Galra Empire, or anything to do with it.

Which made this situation particularly volatile.

Pidge felt her shoulders tighten in tension as the conversation drew to its end. The Council - what a  _stupid_  name, Pidge thought to herself - basically refused to give Shiro and Keith back and ended the communication abrubtly.

Allura turned on her heel and immediately headed for the shuttle bay's doors.

"We haven't a moment to lose," she shot over her shoulder. "Pidge, help me install a particle barrier on the pod you just used. That should keep the atmosphere from roasting the controls when it goes through those storms a second time. Coran, you'll guard the pod once it lands on the surface. We'll try to keep it hidden with that cloaking device you engineered, Pidge. And then the Paladins and I will break in, get Keith and Shiro, and then we'll  _all_  make it back here."

They all did as she said. And it almost worked, too.

_Almost_.


	2. Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, not everyone can make it out.

Allura turned back towards the pod's doors, realized what he was planning to do. She was calling out to him, her eyes wide in panic, but she couldn't stop him. She was too far away, and he was too determined to accomplish his goal.

"KEITH! NO!"

Panting, dragging himself forward with one arm, trying not to pass out from blood loss and pain, Keith ignored her. With an almost Herculean effort, he managed to rise to one knee, and reaching up with the last of his strength, he slammed his good hand onto the door control mechanism.

Immediately after his fist hit the button, the doors slid shut, cutting off the sounds of his team's desperation and disbelief at his action.

Keith let out a half-stifled hiss of triumph, immediately followed by a groan of pain he couldn't bite back. Suddenly feeling dizzy, he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the closed doors of the escape pod, against the only thing that stood between him and his team, the only protection he'd been able to give them in the end.

Someone - probably Hunk, from the violence of the vibrations - began pounding frantically against the door. Keith felt irrationally irritated at the noise. Momentarily regaining a fraction of his usual temperament, he opened his eyes, looked up, and glared half-heartedly through the transparent wall of the escape pod.

It  _was_  Hunk, pounding futilely at the wall. His mouth was open - he was shouting something. Pidge had rushed over to the damaged, sparking interior control panel, and from here, Keith could only see the top of the Green Paladin's head, but he could imagine her teeth bared in a furious, desperate expression, swearing and cursing as she tried to re-wire the door's controls, trying to get them to open again. Trying to get to him before it took off.

But Keith know she couldn't manage to open the doors again. Not after the interior controls of the escape pod had taken direct fire from the enemy.

It seemed the alien race they'd encountered had placed snipers around their - 'hidden' - escape pod, and one of them - one of the smarter ones - had managed to hit the pod's automatic launch controls when the doors had been opened by Coran. The courtier had opened the doors to the pod when he saw the group pelting towards him, right after they'd freed Keith and Shiro, all of them running as fast as they could.

Keith had almost made it. He'd  _almost_  been able to get onto the escape pod with the others.

Between the four male Paladins - maybe -  _maybe_  they could have made a shield wall once they were all inside the pod, given Pidge enough time to hotwire the damaged controls without danger of taking fire - but there was no way - no way in  _hell_  that only three shields could have covered Pidge - or anyone inside the pod, for that matter - from the snipers.

But when one of the snipers had gotten him in the right leg, Keith had known he might not make it. He'd been in the back, trying to cover his teammates, so he'd fallen slightly behind, and he guessed the sniper must have had it in for him in particular. Not surprising, really, given what had happened in the caves.

Then, right after he'd stumbled and fallen to the ground - he'd taken another shot, this time to his right side - and then he'd  _known_  he wouldn't be able to make it to the pod - so he'd - just decide to initiate the launch sequence from the outside.

At least the enemy had stopped firing once the doors had closed. Their planned kill box was no longer an option. Keith had seen to that.

 _God_ , his side hurt. It hurt worse than he'd ever thought anything  _could_  hurt. He coughed then, feeling blood come up. He tried to ignore it, spat what he could to the side, but his side had begun to burn in agony, and moving only made it worse.

But - at least - at least the pod's launch sequence was almost complete. His team would make it out, even if he didn't. The only thing he regretted was that he wouldn't get a chance to say goodbye to Red. Not in the way Red deserved.

He half-closed his eyes for an instant, pressed his forehead against the transparent surface, felt his face contort in pain, as much he tried not to show it. His left hand was pressed against his side - not that it would do any good - he could  _feel_  the blood pulsing down his side beneath his fingers - but at least his team was safe.

The footsteps behind him got louder, the noises harsher. The enemy was coming to get him. He could hear movement behind him in the undergrowth, and shouted orders to 'Surround him!' and 'Secure him!'

Part of Keith wanted to turn, to face the enemy. He  _hated_  not facing an enemy. But it just hurt too much to move.

And anyway, he wanted the last thing he saw to be his friends.

So he just stayed where he was, his right fist pressed up against the glass, bringing his eyes up to face his team, trying not to show the pain. He didn't want their last sight of him to be that of him struggling to breathe, or looking as if he regretted the choice he'd made.

He just - he just wanted to look at each of them, try to see - if they were going to be okay -

Coran had taken a hit too, and Lance was keeping pressure on the wound in Coran's arm. It was a bad one - the bandage Lance had slapped over the wound was already soaked through - and Allura still had hold of Shiro, trying to keep him from putting weight on his injured leg, and Pidge was still working frantically at the controls while Hunk pounded uselessly against the door.

Keith remembered what Hunk had asked him when they were about to go and save Allura..it seemed like it had been years ago.

_What if it was me? You wouldn't leave me - would you? … Would you?_

_No,_  Keith thought.  _I wouldn't._

_I didn't know - not back then._

_But now - now I know I could never leave_   _ **any** __of you behind._

_But this time - this time I have to stay behind._

Keith's eyes almost slid shut automatically, but he forced them open again. As he did so, he felt another white-hot pulse of pain emanate from his side. He slammed his fist against the door in a sudden surge of frustration, let out a harsh curse as he felt his strength begin to falter.

He  _had_  to stay upright. He didn't want his team to see him fall - to see him -

Shiro was looking up at him from where Allura had managed to sit him against the wall of the escape pod, pale and bleeding from the cuts he'd taken from the enemy. His face was ashen, but it wasn't from physical pain. His eyes were locked onto Keith's face, and they were -

Keith suddenly felt dizzy again, and realized he was falling just as he finally collapsed onto his side, limp as a rag doll. He felt his head hit the ground, but he tried to keep his eyes locked onto what little he could see of the escape pod's window. He could still see part of Hunk's face, but even that was lost from sight as the pod began to rise.

He hadn't been able to say goodbye. Not to Shiro, not to Lance - not to any of them.

He just hoped they would be all right.

Keith watched the pod lift off from the planet's surface just as the enemy surrounded him, their heads and shoulders blocking his view of the sky - and, more importantly to Keith - the rapidly disappearing pod.

 _Typical,_ he thought.  _Just typical._

Deciding he didn't need to see anymore, Keith finally let his eyes drift shut. Then again, maybe it was just that he couldn't keep them open any longer.

Either way, he'd accomplished his goal.

* * *

 When someone nudged his wounded side with a rough foot, he almost didn't react.

It was painful, sure. Excruciating, even. But dammit, couldn't they just let him die in peace?

Then someone kicked him in the side,  _hard_  - and he felt his eyes shoot open in a reaction that was sheer reflex. Someone had just screamed, too - a horrible, choking sound -

Oh. That was him.  _Great._

The leader of the guards was standing over him, his foot raised back for another kick, but when he saw Keith's expression, he leaned over and gripped Keith by the throat, lifting him up as easily as he might a kitten.

"Still alive?" he asked, sneeringly, and Keith couldn't answer.

He wanted to, but he just couldn't spare the breath or the energy. His feet dangled two feet from the ground, and he tried - without success - to pry the leader's grip from his throat. He only had the one good arm to work with, so all he could attempt was to loosen a few of the leader's fingers.

He couldn't even manage that.

The leader grinned at him then and hurled him backwards, into two soldiers standing nearby. They caught Keith by the arms, and he felt them secure both of his wrists behind his back.

Not that they needed to - his left arm had been pulled out of its socket earlier, during the escape, so it wasn't like he could really use it. And as for trying to run-

His side.  _God_ , his side. He didn't want to look down. He didn't want to see the red stain spreading across his torso, or the way his right leg buckled every time he put weight on it.

"Get him back to the caves," the leader said. "It's time we put an end to this Galra scum once and for all."

The soldiers began to drag Keith back with them, but he tried to resist by digging in his heels. He had no illusions about being able to keep them from moving him for long - he just wanted to look back at the sky long enough to see if the escape pod had made it out of the atmosphere.

The leader saw where Keith was looking, and he smiled at Keith in a knowing manner. It was a cruel smile - self-satisfied and completely pitiless.

"Don't bother," he said. "Nothing makes it off this planet unless the Council permits it."

Even as the words left his mouth, there a flash of red light across the sky, followed by the sound of an explosion.

Keith saw something - something on fire - saw it tumble out of the sky to crash into the ground, many miles away. The leader shrugged and turned away from the sight.

Keith felt his heart lurch and stutter in sudden terror.

His team - his friends - his  _family_.

No, that couldn't have been - that couldn't have been the escape pod - they were all right, they had to be.

_They had to be._

The guards holding him tried to make him move, but Keith resisted. He tried to pull back, to break away, to go to where someone  _might_  have survived the crash, but then one of the guards slammed a fist into his wounded side.

The leader turned back to see the prisoner fall to his knees, retching. The guard saw the leader's look and shrugged. "He was trying to-"

The leader cut him off with an impatient look. "Just get him to his feet - or carry him, I don't care which."

The guard nodded, said 'Yes sir,' and turned to the prisoner. "Come on, let's go," he said.

The prisoner - the half-Galra prisoner - didn't move.

He was staring off towards the site of the crash, his eyes glazed, his face pale. He seemed to be made completely of stone.

The guard made an impatient sound, reaching out to haul him to his feet, but then the prisoner turned his eyes towards him, and something was different.

The boy  _had_  looked like the others. But now -

His eyes - his eyes weren't that strange purple color now. The irises were completely yellow. Galra yellow.

The boy spoke then, and his voice was frightening low.

"I'll  _ **kill**_  you. I'll kill you  _ **all**_."

Suddenly, deeply unnerved, the guard almost took a step back. His leader came over again and, without any preamble, struck the prisoner across the face.

"You won't kill anyone, Galra scum," he said. "You're going to die in the ice caves, just as the Council ordered. You Galra left countless people to die on the cold and barren plains of drained planets. So now you'll die too - surrounded by cold and silence. It's a fitting punishment for someone of your heritage."

The boy raised his head to look at the leader then, and the rage in his eyes was terrifying to behold.

" _You're_ _first_ _,_ " he said. His voice had somehow gained a raspy edge. The rest of the guards shifted their weight from one foot to the other, unnerved. They'd been expecting him to beg, to bargain, to do something that the other races that had come to their planet had done. But he didn't.

The leader glared right back into the yellow eyes. "You're practically dying  _now_ ," he said. "What makes you think you'll manage to kill me?"

When the boy spoke again, his teeth were stained red with his own blood.

" _ **I've got nothing left to lose.**_ _"_


	3. Rage

Even as he spoke, Keith began to plan how he was going to kill the leader. If all else failed - if he couldn't get his hands free before they put him into the Cave of Ice - or whatever they were calling it - he'd just wait until he could push the leader off a cliff, or snap his neck by slamming him into a cave wall with enough force so that it was lethal.

But the bastard was going to die. Somehow. Somewhere. It was just a matter of time.

Every single being on this planet - every  _one_  of them he could find before the breath left his body - was going to die.

He felt rage begin to pulse inside his skull, felt it begin to spill into his blood. He wanted to  _kill_. He wanted to  _destroy_. He wanted to  _obliterate_  the race that had taken his family away from him.

And he was going to  _ **enjoy**_  it.

Just as Keith began to rise to his feet, he felt his Lion call out to him. Red's voice was faint, almost a whisper - but it cut right through the blood lust, through the pain and fear.

_My pilot_ , it said.  _Your fellow Paladins live. The Princess and Coran also live. We are coming for you. Hold on._

Keith froze, feeling torn between conflicting emotions.

Rage. Joy. Disbelief. Hope. Anger…and something else.

A realization that the hate he'd almost given into would have destroyed him.

Or at least destroyed everything in him that mattered, that made him who he was. Who  _Keith_  was.

His family was alive. They were coming for him. He couldn't let them down.

When he did get to his feet, he bared his teeth at the leader in a defiant snarl. The leader - and the guards - looked taken aback, confused, and almost unnerved at his expression. Of course, that didn't stop them from making him walk as far as he could on his injured leg until he passed out from the pain.

Bastards.


	4. Making A Plan

Back in the pod, Pidge let out a 'whooph' of exhalation as she peeled herself off the wall, falling back down onto the floor. Green had just barely managed to knock the pod out of the line of fire before that plasma cannon blast would have incinerated them. They'd tumbled around some - a lot like they had when Lance first flew Blue - but no one had been seriously injured.

Green had managed to knock off a hefty chunk of the plasma cannon at the same time, and that wreckage had - probably - looked enough like the remains of the escape pod once it had fallen through the atmosphere to fool the aliens that had tried to shoot them down in the first place.

'Th-th-thanks - Green,' she said, projecting her thoughts to her Lion mentally, and she felt her Lion purr in response. She hadn't heard it use words yet - not really, anyway - but she got the distinct impression that Green was telling her 'You're welcome' and 'I told you you'd need me on this trip,' in the same sentence.

For an ancient and wondrous being that melded both machine and mystery, the Lions could  _really_  get under their Pilot's skin from time to time.

"I  _knew_  we should have come in our Lions," Hunk was saying. "From now on, whenever we land on an alien planet, we are  _all_ going to be in our  _Lions_  and  _nobody_  is going to pull this on us  _ever_  again!"

Coran clenched his hands into fists, the pain of his injured arm forgotten for the moment."Hunk, that's not fair - how were any of us supposed to know this planet had hidden subterranean inhabitants that harbor a pathological hatred of  _anything_  related to the Galra?"

Lance threw his hands into the air, more out of frustration and panic than anything else. " _Hello_?! Galran Empire, ten thousand years - come  _on_ , Coran!"

Allura spoke up then, her usually gentle voice harsh with stress and thinly veiled panic. "You don't have tell  _us_  that, Lance. Remember, you still have your planet."

Coran winced at Allura's harshness, even as Lance's face went white in shame and embarrassment and Allura bit her lip in regret. Lance and Allura both said "I'm sorry," at the same time to each other, and then Shiro was pushing himself into a standing position.

"Look," he said, "let's just focus on getting Keith back - we don't have much time -"

His bad leg buckled, and he fell against the wall, wincing. Hunk placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "We will - we absolutely will - but first, let's try and think of a way to get Red through this - this environmental barrier thingy that kept us from flying down in our Lions in the first place. Because when we go back for Keith, I think we should take Red - this pod is barely making it back to the castle as it is, and I don't think it could last a third time through all those defenses they have up-"

"I agree," Coran said. "By coming into this planet's unique atmosphere to save us just now, Green took a risk of undergoing severe damage. But once this pod gets back to the castle, we should be able to get back down to the surface in one of the Lions. We'll have to improvise a shield for Red - even a temporary one - but we'll have to do it quickly - "

"Can't we just take  _all_  of our Lions down there?" Lance asked. "I know we wanted to try and just scout out this planet initially - but they've got Keith now - we've got to -"

Shiro shook his head. "The Lions are too big to get into the tunnels," he said. "And we can't take the time to create a shield for each Lion - we've got to prioritize. Red is Keith's Lion - we'll armor him. He can take us down to the surface, I'm sure - and then we'll get Keith."

He felt his teeth bare into a fierce snarl as he grated out the next sentence. "And if any of those bastards come above ground once we have Keith, or try to stop us, Red can shoot them dead."

It was a testament to the severity of the situation that neither Coran nor Allura, diplomats of peace though they were, made any real protest.


	5. Bad Situation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's hard being part-Galra...especially if the entire planet wants you dead.

When Keith woke up, he found himself back in the tunnels he and Shiro had been taken to the first time.

He bared his teeth in anger at the memory before his vision faded again, but he still felt like he was watching a replay of what had happened before.

They'd both been taken to a cave that was lit by torches - Keith only barely remembered how they'd gotten there, but when he'd been able to open his eyes, he'd seen that he and Shiro were both kneeling on the ground, in front of a group of - dammit, Keith didn't know what to call them.

They were humanoid, but they had blue skin, red eyes, and claws instead of hands, and they were  _pissed_. Pissed as  _hell_.

The Council - how conceited a name could you  _have_ , anyway - had asked them why they'd come. At least, Keith thought that was what had happened. His ears had still been ringing pretty good - but it had been clear - even to him - that the Council hadn't believed it when Shiro told them that he and Keith were Paladins of Voltron.

Then one of them was pointing at Shiro's cybernetic arm, and the guy was speaking in a condemning sort of tone. That much Keith had been able to make out. The arm Pidge and Hunk had engineered wasn't completely lined with blue Altean tech - bits of the original Galran purple remained. It looked like the Council was accusing Shiro of something - maybe recognizing him as Champion? Saying he was an agent of the Druids?

Keith had felt anger begin to blaze inside him, despite the ringing in his ears and the churning of his stomach.  _Wow_ , this had be a record - he hadn't even  _spoken_  to these people yet and he wanted to break some heads.

Shiro had been a prisoner for a  _year_  under the Galra - what, did they think some cybernetic arm make you a collaborator or something? And anyway, wasn't it common knowledge those gladiator fights were something you were forced into? He and Shiro had just been out on patrol earlier - they hadn't even approached any of the locals, so all this was crazy talk was jackassery on an absolutely staggering level.

Oh yes, Keith had wanted to break some heads. But then he saw one of the Council members pointing at him, and his hearing had returned enough so that he could make out something about 'Galran lineage' and 'danger to us all' - oh yeah, this was definitely going south fast.

He had - what had he said? Something like, "Ha - if reacting - to a loud noise makes me Galra - breathing the air - on this planet makes - you - all idiots."

It had been lame - really lame - but in Keith's defense, he was still coming back to his full senses. Shiro had tried to say something, but then - one of the guards by Keith had smiled unpleasantly and activated a device, pointing it at Keith's head from not two feet away.

There was no noise, like there had been in the forest. But there  _had_  been a sudden, piercing pain inside Keith's head, and he'd felt - he'd felt his left eardrum rupture. He had screamed, feeling his face contort in pain and blood beginning to stream out of his ear. If he hadn't already been on his knees, he might have fallen to them. His sense of balance was gone, now - and everything was spinning.

Shiro had shouted something, looking furious - wow, that was new - Shiro almost never got this angry - but then the pain had stopped. Keith had been able to open his eyes and see that the guard had turned off the device, looking satisfied. Then Keith had looked over at the Council, and he had been able to  _feel_  the hate and fear radiating off them.

It had - well - truthfully - it had been a terrifying feeling.

These people - this  _race_  - hated him for what he was.

And they wanted to see him die.

Just then, a comms broadcast had opened up. The guards standing by them had taken their helmets, so Keith hadn't been able to hear what was happening, but - somehow - the Council made the comms broadcast appear on the cave wall in front of them.

Keith had heard Allura's voice - but he'd only had one good ear. He hadn't heard everything that had gone on - but he'd looked over at Shiro, hoping maybe to catch his friend's eye, but Shiro was looking over at the Council, and it was only then that that Keith had realized somewhere along the line, their captors had removed Shiro's armor and torn off part of his shirt. They must have wanted to see - to see what their anti-Galra sensors had picked up.

And there were scars - lots and  _lots_  of scars on Shiro's body. Keith saw scars that wound around Shiro's torso, up around his neck, and down his side, curving around towards his back, old gashes and burns and cuts.

But the scar that held Keith's attention was a pattern of letters and characters that were tattooed onto Shiro's side, directly beneath what would have been the stump of his right arm. It said 'Property of the Galra Empire' and there were strange numbers underneath it.

It was a brand.

The Galra Empire had branded his best friend.

In that moment, Keith had seen red. He'd wanted to kill those Galra bastards, he wanted to brand them with something that hurt, that burned, that stayed with them forever, that marked them as the property of someone else.

But then Shiro had looked over at Keith, and suddenly Keith had realized Shiro hadn't wanted Keith to see that - that brand. He'd been trying to keep it from the team - maybe even Allura and Coran - was it because he felt ashamed?

Keith had met Shiro's eyes then, and he'd known what he had to say, even thought the Council wouldn't want him to talk. They'd probably use that - sound device again - apparently the 'Galra scum' would get punished for screwing up.

Screw the Council. Screw his ruptured eardrum. Screw  _everything_  else.

"Shiro," Keith had said, "you're not any less - for - for - "

He hadn't been able to finish the sentence - the guard behind him had hit him on the back of the neck, and everything had gone dark - but he hoped Shiro had understood what he'd been going to say.

_You're not any less for what they did to you._

_Screw the bastards. No one owns you._

_It's just another scar. It doesn't mean you're theirs._

The next thing Keith had known, Pidge, Lance, Hunk, and Allura were helping them out of the tunnels - they'd been running towards the pod - Coran had opened the doors- and then -

Then Keith had made them leave without him.

But Red had told him they were coming back. Red had told him to hang on.

And with that memory, Keith came back to the present. He opened his eyes fully once again, and with a sudden, rushing sensation, he realized where he was.

He was secured to a wall of ice by both of his wrists and ankles, arms stretched out above his head. He felt like a bug pinned under glass, unable even to stand on the ground and take some of the weight off his arms. And even through his clothing, he could feel his skin beginning to go numb, because to top it all off, they'd taken his armor.

 _Great_.

His left arm - still out of its socket - was hurting like a son of a bitch. That, plus the ice, plus the cold of the room - oh, so  _this_  was the cave of ice, he thought sarcastically - plus the assorted collection of injuries, all lead Keith towards one simple, concise conclusion.

This was going to suck in about two minutes.

He was wrong.

It  _really_  sucked in less than thirty seconds.

It got less fun from there.


	6. Conversation with the Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you lose someone dear to you, the loss stays with you.

What Keith really wanted was to be left alone - in peace - until his friends could come and get him out of this mess.

What he  _didn't_  want was for the leader of the guards - the one who had been such a jackass - to come in and try to talk to him.

Keith had closed his eyes - it was easier to imagine being somewhere pleasant that way - somewhere like Antartica - when he heard a sound coming from the doorway. Thinking that maybe his friends had found their way to him in record time, he looked up, only to see the leader of the guards coming to stand in front of him.

Keith felt the hope in his chest die away to be replaced by annoyance and - maybe -  _maybe_ — just a tiny amount of fear. This guy had it in for him. Keith didn't know why, and at the moment, he didn't really care. He just wanted him to go away.

"Oh,  _great_ ," Keith said, keeping his voice flat. It wasn't too difficult, given how hard it was to talk. His breath frosted out in puffs, and he tried to keep his teeth from chattering. "It's  _you_."

The leader looked at him, and his eyes were unpleasantly confrontational.

"I lost my brother to the Galra Empire," he said. "Did you know that?"

It took an extra effort on his part, but Keith tried not to aggravate the situation. "N-no, I didn't," he said.

Stupid cold. Stupid, freezing, numbing cold.

"B-but - like I t-told your council - I'm - n-not-w-with th-them."

The leader's eyes were flat and dull, but something far back in them burned with anger. The fingers on one of his clawed hands drifted towards the sonic device on his belt, as if he was thinking about using it.

Keith tried again. "L-look," he said, and he felt his annoyance and pain meld together into something resembling mental clarity, and for a few moments, he was able to speak clearly.

"I know it - may be hard for you - to b-believe me - but I actually - d-don't know  _what_  I am - okay?"

He gritted his teeth before continuing, but if he froze to death in here, he damn well wanted this guy to know he wasn't a bloody Galran spy.

"A-All I know is that b-both of my parents d-died - in an accident when I was really -  _r-really_ young. I grew up th-thinking I was hu-human."

He didn't know why he was telling the guy this. Maybe the blood loss was finally getting to him. Maybe he was beginning to go into shock. Maybe the frostbite was getting to his brain.

Or maybe it was because he understood the anger at losing someone dear to you. The fury that burned away your ability to think clearly. The pain that could blind you to the more 'rational' course of action. The ache that never really left you, no matter how long it had been since the loss.

The leader of the guards just continued to look at him, but at least he wasn't reaching towards the sonic device anymore. It seemed that he paused more out of a momentary curiosity than a sudden, overwhelming sense of compassion.

"Human?" the leader asked. "What is - human?"

"It's-" Keith tried not to sound as annoyed as he felt. It was hard to think, hard to speak, but he ground his teeth again and spat out the next few sentences. He wasn't scared - that's not why he was stammering. It was just so freaking  _cold_.

"L-look, it's what they call the s-species that lives on a planet - oh, God, I d-don't know w-where, I've never s-seen your constellations b-before today - just - it's li-lightyears away, o-okay?"

The leader's eyes went flat again, and he shook his head. "Lies. More lies. You are _Galra_."

Keith felt his lips begin to peel back in a snarl, but he forced it back.

"You s-say you've got no reason to believe me," he said, and the anger he felt at how they treated Shiro kept his voice steady for just a few moments. "But r-remember this - we came nowhere near you, or your p-people. We didn't even t-try to attack or approach any of you - b-but you attacked  _us._ Wh-What does that say ab-bout you?"

The leader snarled. "We were defending our home!"

He slammed a fist against the wall by Keith's head. The ice beneath it cracked with the force of the blow.

The alien continued, his voice almost a snarl. "We  _defend_  our home from invaders and spies like you - we do not lie, or cheat, or - or torture people like the Galra do!"

Keith turned his head to the side, showing the leader his bleeding left ear. "W-what's that?" he asked, finally feeling his muscles start to quiver uncontrollably. Dammit, just as he'd been given a golden opportunity for snark. "You're g-going to have to sp-speak up."

The leader of the guards bared his pointed teeth in fury, snarling right into Keith's face then.

"It's no more than you deserve," he snarled. "You Galra, always taking what you want and having no thought for the others who suffer as a result-"

It was even harder to think, harder to speak now than a few moments earlier, but Keith bared his teeth and spat out the next few sentences, low and forceful and angry, so intent on his words that it felt like it kept the cold at bay, just for an instant.

" _You tried to shoot down my friends_ ," he said, and he felt his lips curl into a snarl. He glared right back into the red eyes and continued, the anger burning hot inside his chest, the fury making his words clear.

"It's you, and your  _Council_ , who give no thought to those you destroy, or those that are left behind. How is that  _any_  different from the Galra?"

The leader blinked suddenly, then took a step back, taking in a startled breath. Keith saw something that might have been a brief flicker of uncertainty flash across his face, but it was swiftly consumed by a different emotion.

"Wait - what - what did you say?" the leader asked, and suddenly his eyes were looking at Keith with a strange expression. Keith suddenly felt the cold around him surge back into his chest, clutching at his heart.

"You said - you said we tried to shoot down your - friends," the leader continued. "What could you mean by that?"

Inwardly, Keith cursed himself for a fool - a stupid,  _stupid_  fool. If this leader prepared the guards for another attack - if he was waiting for the others when they came to rescue Keith - they would never make it out alive. They would be walking into a death trap.

But maybe it wasn't too late.

It had only been a second since the leader of the guards had asked the question. If Keith were able to make him believe he were going into shock - maybe it would throw the leader off the scent.

The aliens didn't know about Keith's mental communication with Red, so they hadn't intercepted any transmission that would betray the other Paladin's plans. And if no one else had ever gotten off the planet without the Council's knowledge, maybe the leader would put Keith's words down to a vain hope - a denial of what had happened.

Keith had to make him believe that the Council had won, that the planetary defenses had shot down his friend's escape pod. If he didn't - Keith would deserve to freeze to death in here.

Because he would have betrayed his friends.

The very thought of the other Paladins - of Coran and Allura - in danger because of him - made Keith's chest hurt. He felt panic, fear, and horror wash over him, but he forced himself to keep it out of his voice, out of his eyes.

He could help keep them all safe. He just had to make the leader believe he was succumbing to shock, and just rambling fragmentary nonsense.

Not that it would be hard. The cold already had frosted over most of his exposed skin, and everything seemed to be drifting away.

 _Come on, Keith,_  he told himself.  _Come on._

"They - s-s-someone mus-s-st have—" he said out loud, but then the leader was talking again, and Keith forced himself to listen. If he was truly rambling, he would probably wait, to listen to what the leader had to say - right? Dammit, he wished he could think clearly, just for a second.

" _Nothing_  has ever made it off this planet without the Council's permission," the leader said. His eyes were flat once more, his face still. "I can assure you - your comrades are dead."

An image flashed through Keith's mind then - Shiro, Allura, Lance, Hunk, Coran, Pidge - all gone in a sudden flash of light and fire. The very thought made him feel as if someone had punched him in the stomach.

"No-" he said, and he wished he could mean it, hoped by saying it, he could block the image from his mind, but then a distant memory surfaced - one dredged from the past by the mind-meld he'd undergone, not so long ago.

A swirl of fire and smoke, a sudden, terrible pain inside his heart that had never fully healed.

 _His parents._   _The accident._

For an awful instant, the two images overlapped in his mind, and Keith actually felt as if he'd seen the shuttle tear itself apart in the atmosphere, seen it fall to the ground.

He felt his entire body begin to shiver now, and he realized, almost disinterestedly, that he wasn't pretending to go into shock anymore. The cold, the blood loss, and the pain had finally caught up to him.

What if he'd imagined Red's message - what if they were really -

Everyone and everything dear to him, gone in an instant.

Just like his parents.

Just like when Garrison had told him Shiro died on Kerberos - 'pilot error' - 'horrible tragedy' -

His breath caught in his chest, and he let out a sound of pain that had nothing to do with his injuries.

"... _no..._ " he said again, and it was a small sound, almost inaudible. The leader was looking at him strangely, but Keith didn't care anymore. All he could see, all that he could feel, was the pain and loss on the day of the accident - the terror and denial he'd felt when they'd told him Shiro was dead - and it merged into this cold, empty cave with a rapidity that frightened him.

He felt dizzy, and sick, and suddenly - horribly - alone, and he closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the ice cave's wall.

He couldn't block the images from his mind. The shuttle burning, blazing red as it blew apart, the car accident he'd seen from the house's window - Shiro dead in space - everyone he cared about, dead and gone.

He'd tried to get his team to safety - but if they were dead - if  _any_  of them were dead - it was his fault. His, and his alone.

He was the reason they were gone.

The leader was saying something else, but Keith couldn't hear him. He didn't want to hear him.

He kept his eyes shut, but the tears slid down his face anyway. He felt them freeze almost immediately against his skin, and it was a strange, crackling sound that he felt more than heard.

He was alone.

He was alone.

He was  _alone_.


	7. Rescue Mission

The leader of the guards spent a moment longer staring at Keith before he left the Cave of Ice.

The two guards outside the entrance saluted him as he passed by, but he didn't pay much attention to them.

He was starting to have doubts.

Galra soliders, Galra spies - they didn't hesitate to sacrifice anyone or anything to accomplish their mission.

_Victory or death_.

Those words had been etched into his mind since the day his brother died, died because he'd gotten in the way of the Galra.

His brother. His  _friend_.

He was dead because he'd fought against a Galra named Sendak. He'd taken Sendak's arm before he'd been killed, but he had died all the same.

And this boy clearly had Galra blood. His reaction to the safety protocols had proven it, beyond a doubt. And he even fought like a Galra soldier.

And yet…

In a battle, Galrans fought as a unit for one purpose only - to  _win_. The only reason a unit lost a battle was because they were killed in the attempt to win, because the philosophy of the Galra was that if the unit was weak enough to lose, they therefore deserved to be defeated by the stronger foe. Those who survived never hesitated, never grieved over those who were lost. It was what the Galra were.

Or at least, he'd thought so.

But the pain the boy had shown - right there, at the end - when he realized that his team was really and truly  _gone_  - that wasn't normal.

Not for a Galra.

Scowling, the leader headed for the Council room. They had to hear about this latest development.

Something wasn't right.

As the leader of the guards vanished through the archway that lead to the network of tunnels belonging to the Council, two forms flitted through the shadows, down towards the tunnel that led to the Cave of Ice.

Moments later, Lance attacked the two guards in front of the door. Despite his initial desire to use lethal force, Lance used the stunning setting on the weapon Pidge had built for him. But he still shot each of the guards in the chest, sniper style, and felt somewhat better as they spasmed into unconsciousness.

They'd live, but they could rescue Keith now. And that was all that mattered right now. Get Keith, get out, get away - hopefully without killing anyone.

As Lance took care of the guards, Hunk ran into the cave and drew a knife from his belt. As he started cutting through the restraints, he saw that Keith didn't look good at all. His right leg and side were bleeding - slowly now, due to the cold - but they  _were_  bleeding - and his head had fallen forward, onto his chest, and only tiny puffs of frosted breath were showing.

This was  _bad_.

The only good - the  _only_  good thing - that had come from this cave of ice was that it had probably slowed the bleeding down. But they had to get Keith medical help, and soon. Otherwise he might never see the sky again.

Hunk called out over his shoulder as he freed one of Keith's wrists and started sawing through the last restraint. "Lance, come over here - you'll need to catch him - we've got to get him out of here  _now_  -"

As Lance ran over and caught Keith as the final restraint was cut through, he saw that his friend's eyes were closed, and Lance felt panic rise in his chest, causing him to only remember one thing, and one thing only - that he had to try and keep Keith awake.

So as he put one of Keith's arms over his shoulders, and Hunk took Keith's other side, Lance found himself automatically half-humming the song 'Lean On' by that group, the same one that they'd -

Keith's face twitched for a second, and Lance thought that - maybe - he'd been reacting to the sound. Then one of Keith's eyes opened, just a slit, and he was looking over at Lance. The iris seemed to glint gold for an instant before taking on its usual purple hue.

" _God,_ Lance-" Keith mumbled. Drops of blood flecked his lips when he spoke - but there was an almost minuscule hint of his usual annoyance present all the same. "- you -  _suck_  - "

Lance almost felt a laugh burst out of his chest, but he held it back. It would have been a hysterical, panicked sort of laugh anyway, and right now, he and Hunk had to work on getting Keith out of this hell hole. So instead he made a rude noise and started to help Hunk drag Keith out of the cave.

" _We need - someone to lean on_  - " Lance half-sang as they made it to the main tunnel. He felt Keith's right hand - the one by his ear - twitch as if Keith was trying to hit him. At this point, Lance would have gladly taken a punch to the kidneys if it meant Keith had the energy to make the effort.

But Keith didn't. He couldn't even stand.

" _Dammit_ , Lance -" Keith said, but it was weaker now. It was clear he was trying to stay awake, but the bitter cold of the cave he'd been held in and the injuries he'd sustained were against him. "You're - by my-"

Lance and Hunk rounded a corner then, and without meaning too, Hunk jostled Keith's injured leg. Keith made a sound of pain then - a short, harsh gasp and a breathless curse - and Lance felt anger at the alien race who had done this surge inside his chest. They'd hurt Keith. They'd hurt his  _friend._  Lance wanted to make them pay for it.

But then Keith was spitting out more words, and Lance tore his attention back to what he was saying. Keith was gasping now, but Lance could still - just barely - make out what he was saying. His voice was weak, almost inaudible.

"- good…ear…so…jusssst…"

Then Keith's head fell forward on his chest, and Hunk was saying they had to hurry, they had to  _move_ , to get him to the others as fast as they could - and he and Lance had broken into a faster pace, as fast as they dared.

They were almost out of the tunnels. The rest of the team would be waiting for them, right outside the entrance to the caves. And then Red would come, and it would be okay.

The Lion had been forced to drop them off almost a mile away from the tunnels that led to where Keith was being held, and then they'd had to make their way under cover, being silent and careful, because they'd known that there would be no rescue at all if their approach was seen.

The Council would have killed Keith if there had been any hint of this attempted rescue.

But Hunk told himself it was going to work. They  _had_  found Keith - and he was hurt, hurt bad, but he was alive. And now they were almost out of the tunnels, and the rest of the team would be waiting for them, right outside the entrance to the caves. Once they were all together, they'd send Red their exact location, and it would be okay.

They would make it. They had to.

Hunk suddenly stopped, and it took Lance a second to understand why. They'd come to the last section of the tunnel, and before they could move any further, Hunk needed to check to see if the last stretch was still clear of guards.

Without speaking, Lance braced himself against the wall, so he could support most of Keith's weight, and Hunk moved a few paces away, activated his weapon, and checked around the corner.

Then there was the sound of lasers firing, and Hunk drew back from the corner.

"There are some guards - I have to take them out before we can get outside - give me a minute!" he shouted, and then he was firing down the corridor, also using the stun setting Pidge - bless her tech genius, four foot nothing self - had also installed on his weapon.

Lance felt his knees begin to buckle under Keith's weight, and he managed to lean Keith against an outcropping of rock. He adjusted so that he now held Keith up by his shoulders, looking into his friend's face.

There was blood streaming down from a cut above one eye, and also from his injured left ear. His skin was pale and freezing to the touch, and Lance didn't like the way a lot of his skin looked waxy. He was pretty sure that was a bad sign of frostbite.

In that cave of ice and frost, Keith could have lost fingers or toes to frostbite. Even now, Lance wasn't sure if they'd gotten to him in time to prevent permanent damage. Healing pods or not, they couldn't always replace limbs or appendages.

Shiro's arm was proof of that.

Lance felt anger surge inside his chest again. The bastards who'd done this were going to  _pay_.

With an effort, he pulled his mind back to the immediate present. He had to keep Keith awake. He  _had_  to. It was dangerous to let Keith drift off.

You couldn't fall asleep in bitterly cold conditions. You'd die.

So the same had to go for someone who'd almost just frozen to death, right?

He couldn't take the chance.

He wouldn't.

Not with his friend's life on the line.

"Keith, hey - buddy, come on," he said. He shook him by the shoulders, raising his voice to a shout. "Keith - hey - mullet-head - come on! Wake  _up_!"

Keith didn't even twitch. Lance ground his teeth and felt tears spring to his eyes in frustration. He drew back a hand and, feeling like an absolute son of a bitch, he slapped Keith across the face.

He purposefully hit the side of Keith's face that did  _not_  have a ruptured eardrum. Lance wasn't a total bastard - even though he felt like one.

Keith's eyes opened, but only just barely. He looked confused, still not completely awake, but at least he'd raised his head a little.

"What…?"

"Stay awake," Lance said. He felt awful, but he kept his voice flat, stern, like an officer's voice.

When Keith's eyelids began to flicker shut again, Lance hit him again, harder this time.

Keith's head rocked back, and Lance repeated the command, feeling tears slide out of his eyes.

He didn't want to hit his friend, but if this is what would keep Keith alive, he'd do it. And he'd hate himself for it later, when Keith was safe, back in the Castle, getting the treatment he needed.

Keith's eyes were open now, and they were glazed, confused, hurt. But at least he was aware now.

"Lance…?" he asked, and Lance choked back what he wanted to say - that he was sorry he'd hit him, that it would be okay, that he'd get Keith help soon. There wasn't time for that.

"Stay  _awake_ ," he repeated. "You've got to stay awake - listen, Shiro's out there, and he needs you."

Lance swallowed, and then said the truth. " _We_  need you, Keith. We need you to make it out of here."

Keith's eyes drooped, and for a second, Lance was afraid he'd have to hit him again. But then Keith was nodding, if only weakly, and Lance was so glad, he almost jumped in surprise when Hunk came back around the corner, saying something about 'no time to waste' and then they were both carrying Keith around the corner and making their way as fast as they could towards the final stretch of tunnel. It sloped steeply upwards, so it was hard, but they did their best.

Just as the first rays of natural light hit Lance's amor, he heard noises behind them. He didn't dare to look back, he just shouted at Hunk to 'RUN!' and then there were shots fired, and -

And then there was covering fire coming from above. Lance looked up, and there were familiar figures at the entrance to the tunnel - Allura, Pidge, Shiro, and Coran, firing laser guns down at the enemy below them, forcing the enemy soldiers back into the tunnels, out of firing range.

When Hunk and Lance reached the two Alteans, Allura helped them lay Keith against one of the walls by the tunnel's opening, in a sitting position. As she began to bandage his injured side, there was a roaring sound that shook the very earth, and suddenly Red's presence was back in Keith's mind.

Maybe how far he'd been underground had blocked the Lion from reaching him - or maybe it was the planet's weaponized atmosophere. But regardless of what it had been, Keith felt his Lion's mind meld and merge with his own  _now_ , and suddenly the Red Lion was snarling in rage, pain, and anger as he realized the full extent of his Paladin's condition. Despite everything, despite the pain and fear he still felt, Keith felt the echo of a smile cross his face.

Red was coming, and he was  _pissed_.


	8. Seeing Red

_My pilot,_ Red growled,  _ **who**_ _did this to you?_

Keith winced suddenly at the volume of the voice inside his head. He tried to answer, but hissed in sudden pain as Allura began wrapping a bandage around his injured leg. Coran and the other Paladins were now all standing in a protective half-circle around him and Allura, weapons out and ready to fire at anyone who approached.

Red growled then, but it was a sound of concern and rising anger - not at the Princess, but at the cause of the pain to his Paladin.

Deep breaths, Keith told himself. Deep breaths.  _Oh_ , _quiznak, everything hurt._

"The - the natives," Keith managed between clenched teeth. He couldn't manage a purely mental link with Red, not at this distance, but maybe this half-spoken, half- thought connection would work. It had before, on the way back from Haggar's ship. "They - didn't like - it when - they found out - I'm - part-Galra."

He broke off then, unable to completely suppress a cry of pain when Allura tied off the bandage over his leg. Briefly, he saw Lance look back over his shoulder, down at Keith, and his expression was -

Well, Keith knew Lance would never be scary to  _him_. But he wouldn't bet money on that being the case for the blue-skinned alien race. Then Red's voice was sounding again in Keith's head, and it drowned out all other thoughts.

 _ **I will rip them to shreds,**_ Red snarled, and Keith felt the anger of his Lion as if it were a palpable thing, a rising, rippling heat of anger so intense, it could melt through a continent of ice.

"NO!" Keith said, panic making his voice louder than he'd intended. He tried to get up - but he moved too quickly. Suddenly his sense of balance was off - his shattered eardrum probably had something to do with it - and he felt sick, almost nauseous. His head spun, and he shut his eyes.

"Keith - just - stay down - " Pidge's voice said, and although Keith couldn't see her, he could picture her eyes narrowed in worried exasperation. "-we got this -"

Someone was grabbing hold of his shoulder, leaning him back against the wall - probably Allura - and she was saying something, but of course he couldn't hear out of that ear. And Red's furious snarls were so loud in Keith's mind, he couldn't spare any thought for anything else right now.

 _Quiznak_  - unless he did something, Red was going to burn this planet to the ground. Or would that be  _through_  the ground, since everyone lived in the tunnels?

Keith forced his wandering mind to focus. "RED!" he shouted, trying to ignore the churning, awful sensation in his gut, the pain in his right side, the feeling of blood beginning to trickle down the left side of his face again. "RED - LISTEN TO ME!"

The cold in the cave had slowed the bleeding, but now that he was back on the surface, it had started up again. Sensation was beginning to return, and with that came more pain, but he couldn't focus on that now, he had to keep Red from going on a rampage that would cost lives. He forced himself to keep talking, to make Red listen.

"Red - don't - " he started, but then he felt something tremble underneath the earth, right by his left foot. Keith forced his eyes open once more, looked down towards where the earth was starting to move - and saw something glint off -

One of the time-delay traps he'd seen when he was on patrol with Shiro.

_Oh shit._

"ALLURA - MOVE!" he shouted. Using every last ounce of his strength, he shoved her away from him, out of the line of fire, just as his good ear heard the snap of a mechanism releasing, a hiss as a cross-bolt flew through the air.

Then something hit him - hard. He felt his head rock backwards, slamming against the wall of the tunnel.

Whatever had hit him had taken his breath away. He tried to breathe, found it was harder then it should have been.

Oh,  _come_   _on_. He'd been wounded already today - like, four times. Couldn't he catch a br-

Then he looked down at his chest and felt confused. There was a bolt sticking out of his left side, right - by the ribcage -

_Oh, that wasn't good._

He looked up in time to Allura looking back at him, her face pale and horrified, but then Red was roaring in his mind, and it drowned everything else out. It was a roar without words - a roar of fear, terror, and a blinding rage, and it almost drove Keith mad.

He could only close his eyes and scream.

"KEITH!" Hunk shouted. He'd turned just as he heard Keith scream, saw Allura getting back to her knees from where she'd fallen, reaching out towards the Red Paladin, her face pale and horrified. Coran shouted to Hunk, Lance, and Pidge to maintain covering fire even as he raced to Keith's side.

Shiro was at Keith's side even before either Allura or Coran reached him. Pidge had never seen the Black Paladin move so fast. Within half a second, he dropped the weapon he held at Pidge's feet and raced over to the wall where Keith was. Then he was on his knees by his friend, his face as white as paper.

Keith groaned, his head rolling forwards, huffing out a breath. His face was tight with pain, but he brought one hand to his side, fumbling at the missile lodged there. Shiro grabbed hold of Keith's wrist and held it away from the injury, trying to keep Keith from pulling the bolt out of his side.

"No-" Shiro was saying, and his voice was trying to be steady, but there was a tightness to it that Keith had never heard before. "No - Keith - don't - we can't - "

"Shiro-" Keith said, "-it- _hurts_ \- Shiro -" he broke off, coughing.

"I know - I know - " Shiro said, and Pidge saw that his face had gone even paler. "I know - Keith, but w- "

Suddenly there was a roaring sound that shook the very earth - and then Red was there, his giant red muzzle thrust into the tunnel's opening, his body and front legs surrounding the small group. Other time delay bolts fired then, but the bolts didn't even graze the Red Lion's metal hide. Every one was deflected, every one missed its intended mark.

Red leaned his head down towards Keith, still roaring, a sound that somehow managed to be terrifying and vulnerable all at the same time, and even though Allura knew Red would never, ever harm her, she flinched at the horrible sense of terror, pain, and fear of loss the sound conveyed.

Keith half-smiled up at Red then, and it was somehow confident and uncertain at the same time.

"Don't worry - I'm - not - going to-" he began, but coughed again, his body tensing, and he suddenly looked - almost scared. Red snarled again.

"Red - " Keith said, and he spat blood to the side before continuing. "Red - listen - don't - don't do anything - stupid - "

Red shook his head minutely from side to side, growling, and Keith looked up at Shiro and Allura. "Not - to rush you - or anything - " he said, and his voice was so faint Lance could barely catch it, his words coming harsh now, "But - uh - Red - Red's - saying he's not - going to let - the natives - get away - with…."

He cut off, his body suddenly going rigid, his eyes staring at nothing.

"Keith?" Shiro asked, his voice worried. " _Keith?_!"

Keith's head rolled backwards then, his eyes remaining eerily half-open. Without a second's delay, Coran and Allura began working on taking care of the new injury.

Shiro stayed by Keith's side while Lance, Pidge, and Hunk remained on guard, their weapons out and ready. Pidge was biting her lip so hard that blood had begun to trickle down her chin, while Hunk's face had gone strangely steady. Not cold - exactly - but harder, and he looked nothing like his usual, gentler self.

Lance had never seen his kind friend this way before. It was like all of Hunk's heart and empathy had just - condensed into a 'gotta get this done' sort of attitude, and it meant serious shit for whoever tried to come up against the Yellow Paladin right now.

With an effort, Lance turned his gaze away from where Keith sat, back to where he had to keep guard, looking down into the dark tunnels. He swallowed and felt tears prick at his eyes again. Keith was going to be okay. He had to be. He was  _family_.

Keith's awareness of what was going around him was fading, but he made a last effort to reach out to Red. He had to make sure Red didn't - well - see red.

Hah-ha - oh,  _hell_  - agh - yeah, pain was  _hilarious_.  _Ow_.

_Red?_

_**My pilot!** _

"Yeah, that's me," Keith said. He was really starting to loose track of what he was saying, and what he was  _thinking_.

_Red - just - don't do anything stupid - okay?_

Red growled again, and it was a rumbling snarl of rebellious intent.

_**I cannot promise that.** _

_Well - tough,_ Keith said.  _You can't just - go and - wipe out - people - because they're jerks-_

Another growl from Red, this one deep enough to rattle stones on the ground.

_**WHY?!** _

Despite himself, Keith laughed, then snarled against the new wave of pain that crested over him. Damn, that  _hurt_.

 _Because - because -_ _**hell**_ _, Red - don't make me think so loud at you right now!_

_**It's keeping you awake, isn't it?** _

Red sounded like he was still just two short steps shy of blood rage, but now he also sounded…smug?

Keith's eyes shot open again, and he glared up at his Lion for a second. The next words he thought of telling Red were not PG-13, but instead, he settled for,

 _Yeah - well - thanks. You're -_ _**so** _ _\- g-giving -_

He broke off then, suddenly feeling sick. He looked down at his side and realized that Coran and Allura had just removed the bolt from his side, and were now trying to suppress the bleeding. Shiro had been at his other side, holding Keith's shoulders in place against the wall. Keith bit back a curse, trying to keep his mind from processing everything his body was telling him.  _I get it. I'm in agony. Shut up already_.

Someone - Shiro? - was telling him it was going to be okay - and Keith wanted to believe him - but he had to tell Red…

_Red…_

_My pilot?_

_Take care of them, okay?_

Another growl from Red rumbled the stones around them, but this time it was a grudging agreement to Keith's command.

_I will._

_Great…_ Keith thought back.

Or maybe he said it. He'd completely lost track now. Everything was fading.

He felt his eyes slide shut again.

He wasn't alone.

At least in the end, he wasn't alone.


	9. Part of the Crew

When Shiro saw Keith's eyes close again, he called his name. When Keith didn't answer him, he felt panic rise in his chest. He grabbed Keith's wrist with his left hand, felt for a pulse, didn't feel anything.

Everything around him receded for an instant, and panic such as he had not felt since the nightmares clutched at his mind, his heart, his soul.

His friend. His friend wasn't answering him. Shiro reached with his right hand and, gripping the back of Keith's neck, pressed his own forehead to Keith's forehead, his eyes shut tight.

 _Please be okay. Please, Keith. You're my friend. You've_ _ **got** _ _to be okay._

"Come on," was all he said out loud. "Come on, buddy.  _Please_.  _Please_ wake up."

Allura felt tears come to her eyes, but she kept bandaging the wound, Coran helping her.

"Shiro," she said once they were done, touching his shoulder. "Shiro, we've got to get him to the Red Li-"

Shiro raised his head and looked at her, and she felt something in her heart almost break at the expression in his eyes. It was lost, and scared, and very, very young.

Then she saw Keith's eyes slit open, and she let out a gasp of surprise and relief. Shiro realized what had happened, whipped his head back around, and then just - just stared into Keith's face.

Keith seemed to be pretty out of it, but he he shot Shiro a half-grin that had to be almost automatic. "Can't - order me - around -" he said, but it was only barely audible.

Shiro let out a breath and gave his old friend a relieved look. He felt the panic recede just long enough where he could reply.

" _God_ , Keith," he said, and he felt his voice breaking with an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time. "You  _gotta_  stop scaring me like this-I already  _have_  white hair-"

Keith tried to shrug, but winced. Shiro broke off, his face worried once again. When Keith spoke again, it was even fainter than before.

"Better - hurry - guys," he said. His face was pale, his lips too blue. He was shivering. "Not - doing - so great here."

"Let's go-" Coran said. "Allura, Shiro, help me - I think we can carry him into the Lion together -"

They began doing so, the other three Paladins still acting as guards.

Just as the ramp began to close, Lance saw someone come out of the tunnel. He turned his weapon on the figure and almost squeezed off a shot on reflex, but just then, Red's jaws snapped shut, and Lance immediately took his finger off the trigger. He absolutely did  _not_  want to fire a stunning blast in an enclosed space. He would almost certainly hit one of his teammates, and even though Keith could maybe - sometimes- mostly - be annoying, he was family.

And he was hurt. Hurt really, really bad.

They had to get him back to the Castle, and they had to get him back  _now_. There wasn't any time to waste.

Coran, Shiro, and Allura were just about to lay Keith down on the ground when they felt a purring hum throughout the control room, and the pilot's chair suddenly folded down into something more like a cot, low and close to the ground, with a few safety straps laid across it. So, in the end, they were able to lay Keith on something much more comfortable than the floor, and buckle him in securely.

"I know Allura flew us down," Pidge said, "but - can Red - "

A rumbling sound echoed again, a little more loudly this time, and suddenly Red had launched upwards, through the sky, charging straight towards the Castle of Lions. His course was straight, unerring, completely smooth.

Allura blinked. She had known the Lions to have their own personalities, of course, but she had never thought one to be so - well, quite so independent.

There was a lower rumble then - an almost insulted sound from Red, as if it took offense at the idea he couldn't be perfectly capable in his own right.

Keith half-opened one eye and rested a hand on the floor. Underneath his fingertips, the floor hummed as if a cat were purring underneath his hand.

" 'S-okay, Red," he said. He sounded tired, but there was a softer tone to his voice than usual. " 'S-not-their fault - you're just…full of…surprises…lately…"

There was a lower, comforting rumble then, almost like a purr.

Allura felt her eyebrows climb in surprise, and then a smile stretched across her face.

"Indeed he is," she said.

Red broke through the planet's atmosphere then, soaring directly towards his bay in the Castle of Lions. He landed without so much as a bump, and then every member of the team helped get Keith to the healing pod.

It was only after Keith was safely in the healing pod, once the full healing cycle had safely commenced, and after he had seen that the other four Paladins were safely back in the lounge that had - somehow - become the common sleeping room - that Coran allowed himself a sigh of relief.

That had been far,  _far_  too close.

They'd almost lost the Red Paladin. And not even to the Galra - but to a planet full of angry, vengeful people who had let hatred blind them.

They had almost -

Coran clenched a fist and resisted the urge to punch the wall again. He'd only just gotten around to repairing the damage he'd caused the last time he'd done that. So instead, he turned his attention to the readings the Castle had continued to take during their absence.

Something blinked on the bottom right hand corner of his comms screen. Coran looked at it for an instant, confused.

Then he realized what it was.

It was an incoming call.

He called Allura over immediately. She looked at the blinking light.

"Who could it be?" she asked. "The Arusians?"

"I doubt it," Coran said. "But - I think the only other people who would hail us on this frequency - would be - "

Allura felt her teeth bare into a harsh smile. It was not an expression of happiness - more one of almost shark-like intent.

"Oh, they  _wouldn't_."

Coran checked the signal once more, nodded, and made an elegant gesture towards the blinking light.

"Princess," he said grandly. "Shall we take the Council's call?"

Allura put her chin up high. She was still in her fighting uniform, covered in dust, sweat, and blood from the rescue mission. Her hair was falling into her face, and she was pretty sure there were at least a few bruises forming on her fingers and on the palms of her hands from injuries she did not remember gaining. Coran looked much the same.

They looked nothing like ambassadors, much less royalty.

But they did look like people who would never leave a team member behind.

She smiled at Coran then, and this time, it was genuine. He smiled back at her, conspiracy twinkling in his eyes. She felt something spark inside her chest then, a feeling of utter confidence and an almost fierce happiness at this chance. She nodded, feeling her face come alive with something her father would have called 'mischief'.

"It's the  _only_  polite thing to do, _"_ she said. "And we have  _such_  important matters to discuss."

She pressed the 'Activate' button, and said to the screen, in her most polite, cordial tone,

"Greetings, Council members. What seems to be the problem?"


	10. Epilogue (Don't Mess With the Alteans)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura is pissed.

Well, apparently the Council members had a  _lot_  of things to say, including (but not limited to)

a) Freeing prisoners of the Council was an offense punishable by death,

b) harboring a Galran fugitive was  _also_  punishable by death, and

c) assault on the Council's headquarters was  _also_  a capital crime.

Of course, eventually the Council ended with an ultimatum of 'Hand over the Galran scum you have in your possession, and we shall deign to let you live.'

Allura listened, keeping a polite, blank expression on her face until the Council finished. From their rigid stances of righteousness and confident expressions, it was clear they expected complete cooperation.

It might not have been completely diplomatic of her, but she took great satisfaction in what she said next.

"No," she said. "I don't think so."

The Head Council member - she didn't even bother trying to remember his name - sputtered and gasped in outrage, but she cut him off without any hint of apology or shame in her voice.

"Your people, " she said, and her tone was hard as diamonds, "hurt one of my Paladins - without aggravation, without cause, and without  _reason_."

Another one of the pompous fools tried to interrupt her, but she continued, speaking in a low, flat voice that did not do the fires of anger in her eyes justice.

"If anyone should be demanding retribution," she said, "it should be me. I have a full schematic of your planet's defense systems. Were I  _truly_  part of the Galra Empire - or a sympathizer, as your actions seem to imply - I could blow your planet to dust in less time than I just spent explaining the concept to you. Our castle's shields are more than enough to protect us from any direct attack you might attempt, so your threats are empty as well as foolish."

Something - perhaps a long-dormant sense of self-preservation - seemed to kick in, and the Council remained quiet as she continued, reigning in her anger with an effort.

"But - as I'm  _sure_  you've noticed, we have not - permanently - harmed any of your people. We used force to rescue one of our own from a death you sentenced him to. We chose the path of peace, and you answered us with force."

Her scorn broke through then, and it was a withering thing to hear. "You claim to be different from the Galra, but all I see before me are cowards who are blinded by hate and fear."

She felt her hands begin to shake then, in rage and anger against their blind arrogance and self-righteousness.

"I lost much to the Galra. My family, my home, my solar system. If you  _dare_  compare my Paladin - or  _any_  of my allies - to the monsters who committed those crimes, I will stand against you with every fiber of my being."

She decided to end this conversation quickly, before the anger in her heart grew any hotter. Flicking hair out of her face, she said, crisply and coolly, "I shall give you three choices. Join the Voltron Alliance, and help us defeat the real monsters. Remain on your planet, and live out your lives as you see fit. Or - stay out of our way."

There was a moment of silence. One of the Council members spoke then. He seemed a little younger than the others. He sounded confused.

"You will not - you will not force us to join you?"

Allura felt her temper rise - oh, what she wouldn't  _give_  to slap one of those idiots - but years and  _years_  of practice, of training, of diplomatic experience paid off in that moment.

Instead of snapping back an answer, she shook her head, taking in a deep breath.

"That is not what we do," she said. "You are free to choose your course of action."

She felt her lips peel back in the beginnings of a snarl, and decided it was all right to let this display of temper show. This group of pompous fools needed to know she  _meant_  what she said next. She wanted the last thing she said to the Council to resound deeply throughout their tiny, bigoted minds.

" _However_ ," she said, and her voice had once again fallen into a deathly quiet. "If you harm  _any_  of my Paladins again, I can guarantee that you  _shall_  regret it."

Coran, sensing she had finished, stepped forward then, in the customary manner of a respected attendant, and said to the screen, "You may give us your answer by this time tomorrow."

Then, without any further niceties, he switched off the screen. Turning back to her, he said, with genuine sincerity, "Well, that went as well as could be expected. Well done, Princess."

After that, Allura found she needed to sit down. Coran helped guide her to a chair and offered to fetch her a glass of water.

She gratefully accepted his help. Her entire body was shaking - from relief, from the emotions coursing through her, and from the realization that she had just given an ultimatum to a planet.

She blew out a breath and brought her hands up to cover her face. It was an gesture she'd seen Pidge use.

She'd done a lot of things for the first time today.

From across the room, she heard a soft chuckle. She looked up and saw Shiro leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. He was smiling over at her.

"I couldn't help but overhear," he said. "I really liked how you handled that."

Allura felt a tired but happy smile cross her face. "Well, they had it coming to them," she said. "How is everyone? How is your leg?"

Shiro unfolded his arms and came into the room then, sitting down in a chair across from her. "They were all so tired, they just fell right asleep. They're going to be hungry in the morning, though."

Allura nodded. "I'm glad they're asleep - they need their rest." She paused before asking her second question again. "And…your leg?"

Shiro shrugged. "It's okay. Not great, but okay."

Just then, Coran came back into the room with a glass of water. As he handed it to Allura, he beamed over at Shiro, and said, in a kindly fashion,

"Oh, a few hours in a healing pod would heal that right up! Or we could -"

He stopped when Shiro shook his head. "Thanks, Coran, but I feel like I've spent too much time in those things lately - I'll just see how it is tomorrow."

Coran nodded, understanding crossing his face. "Fair enough - well, I'm off to check on a few things - the old Castle of Lions still needs a bit of love and care before I head off to bed!"

He waved cheerily at them and headed out of the room.

"Coran - do you need any - " Shiro asked, making to rise from his chair, but Coran waved him off, still beaming cheerily.

"No, no - I'll manage - you just rest up, both of you!"

Then he was gone, heading back down the corridors, humming something under his breath.

Shiro looked over at Allura. "What was all that about?" he asked, slightly confused.

Allura smiled into her mug. "I think - I think he's trying to give us some time together."

Shiro blinked. Some slight color came into his face then, and he ran a hand through his hair. "Oh - uh…right. Okay."

Allura felt her face heat up then, but it wasn't an awkward feeling, or a nervous one. Not exactly. Just - excited, and maybe a little bit humourous.

"I know," she said, "Dear old Coran has been trying to get me into some kind of - romantic relationship for - oh, my, it's been ages. Ever since I became eligible, actually."

Shiro looked over at her again, and suddenly he grinned - a real grin, not an awkward or embarrassed one.

"Really?" he said, and he sounded interested. "Sounds like Mrs. Holt. Uh - Pidge's mom," he added hastily as Allura looked a bit confused.

"Oh!" Allura nodded. "Did she - "

"Oh yeah," Shiro said. "All the time - but it was more friendly than pushy - you know?"

Allura nodded. "Oh, yes. Coran's never made it awkward. It's just - endearing, to know he cares."

Shiro chuckled. "Yeah, it is."

There was a moment of comparable silence between them then, a feeling that talk was pleasant, but not necessary, the two of them just simply enjoying the quiet and peace and safety of the moment.

Everyone was safe.

They were all right.

So let the Council decide what it would.

They had each other.

And at the end of the day, that's what really mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was one of the most satisfying scenes to write. I know I say that a lot about both protective Shiro (and Allura) moments, but dang. Definitely one of my all-time favorites, right here.  
> 


End file.
